Come Out and Play
"Come Out and Play" (also referred to as Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated) or simply Keep 'Em Separated) is the seventh track on The Offspring's 1994 third album, Smash. It was released as the album's first single, and was the song that gave The Offspring international fame. "Come Out and Play" is the third track on Smash where Jason "Blackball" McLean (who appears on "Time to Relax", "Genocide" and "Smash") speaks; this time, he says the famous line "you gotta keep 'em separated". Chart performance In order to promote Smash, Epitaph Records founder and Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz reportedly sent a promo copy of "Come Out and Play" to the Los Angeles-based modern rock station KROQ, who immediately played the song on heavy rotation. Thanks to the airplay on KROQ, "Come Out and Play" peaked at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks for two consecutive weeks in the summer of 1994, giving the band their first ever number one single and rise to popularity. The single hit #39 on the Top 40 Mainstream, and also became The Offspring's first top ten hit it on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, where it peaked at number ten. Lyrics You gotta keep 'em separated Like the latest fashion, like a spreading disease The kids are strappin' on their way to the classroom Getting weapons with the greatest of ease The gangs stake their own campus locale And if they catch you slippin' then it's all over, pal If one guy's colors and the other's don't mix They're gonna bash it up, bash it up Bash it up, bash it up Hey, man, you talkin' back to me? Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated Hey, man, you disrespecting me? Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated Hey, don't pay no mind, if you're under 18 You won't be doin' any time, hey, come out and play By the time you hear the siren, it's already too late One goes to the morgue and the other to jail One guy's wasted and the other's a waste It goes down the same as the thousand before No one's getting smarter, no one's learning the score Your never ending spree of death and violence and hate Is gonna tie your own rope Tie your own rope, tie your own Hey, man, you disrespecting me? Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated Hey, man, you talkin' back to me? Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated Hey, don't pay no mind, if you're under 18 You won't be doin' any time, hey, come out and play It goes down the same as the thousand before No one's getting smarter, no one's learning the score Your never ending spree of death and violence and hate Is gonna tie your own rope Tie your own rope, tie your own Hey, man, you talkin' back to me? Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated Hey, man, you disrespecting me? Take him out, you gotta keep' em seperated Hey, don't pay no mind, if you're under 18 You won't be doin' any time, hey, come out and play Appearances *1994 - Smash Category:The Offspring songs Category:The Offspring singles Category:Songs on Smash Category:Songs produced by Thom Wilson